Tuesday, 19 March 2013

In my opinion, vegetarianism is a rapidly expanding diet trend, and like most other trends it is supported by a long list of celebrity advocates.

Celebrities have some kind of power over the consumer markets and tend to influence the decisions people make. Katy Perry is noted for her "cute, girly, vintage" style, and next thing you know, every teenaged girl is sporting the same style. Jessica Biel is seen practising yoga on the beach, and the relaxing meditation method becomes the "hottest" exercise.

You get the point, celebrities do something, and we mimic it.

Becoming vegetarian is one of those things that celebrities do and the public expresses an interest. We have a strange inclination to follow the choices made by our favourite celebs. It's almost as though they promote these trends, such as becoming vegetarian, just by doing it.

Celebrities have the ability to bring issues into the spotlight and generate public discussion. When we hear that a well-known celebrity has recently adopted a vegetarian lifestyle we wonder why and we want to know more about their decision.

This interest leads to increased focus on vegetarianism and oftentimes leads to some celeb fans making the decision to adopt this lifestyle for themselves. Here is a list of just a few celebrity vegetarians:

Wednesday, 13 March 2013

As a vegetarian I do not have many relationships with others
like myself. All of my closest friends
and family are omnivores, so meat is always present.

In some cases I would imagine this could cause
problems. Living in a house full of
hard-core meat-eaters when you can’t stand the thought of eating animals can be
a major issue for some vegetarians.
Trying to sustain a vegetarian lifestyle when you can’t eat any of the
groceries brought into the house is also a frustration. Refusing to eat something that has come in
contact with meat in any way, but someone else is cooking your meal …

Yes, there are many difficulties being the only vegetarian
in a group.

My boyfriend is a dedicated
meat-eater. The guy eats meat every day
and more than just once. He loves his
steaks and chicken wings and burgers; all things that I find absolutely
repulsive. In addition, he practically
refuses to eat vegetables, which are what constitute about 90% of my diet.

So, how do on earth do we manage
to make meals together??

We have managed to find a common
ground – pizza!

Pizza is one of the greatest foods
for people with opposing dietary preferences.
The base is the same, but you have total freedom with the toppings. Plus, pizzas very easily divide into equal
parts, so I can load up my side with peppers, tomatoes, olives and mushrooms,
and my boyfriend can put as much pepperoni as he wants on his side.

Sunday, 3 March 2013

Just in case you didn't feel
satisfied by the information in my last post, I thought I would provide a more
detailed account on vegetarian/vegan friendly protein sources.

The soybean is an important
protein in any meat-free diet. Soybeans
contain all essential amino acids – there are 10 – and provide a respective
amount of protein to the human body.

Soybeans can be consumed in their
original form, and actually make a great addition to your favourite trail-mix,
but they can also be found in a wide variety of soy-based products. Soy milk, tofu, veggie burgers and dogs are
only a few of the products available to vegetarians and vegans. The soybeans are miraculous in that the many
different forms take on a variety of flavours guaranteed to satisfy a range of
tastes.

Aside from soybeans,
vegetarian/vegan protein comes from sources such as:

And the list goes on. So, as you can see, there are a wide range of
proteins available to those who chose not to eat meat. These options offer a variety of textures and
tastes of which you’ll surely never be bored.

Oh, and one last thing, to further
support my previous claim that people tend to think we need more protein than
is necessary, The Happy Cow says that “we need only 2.5 – 10% of our calories
from protein, and ALL vegetables offer us more than that.”

About Me

Do you ever feel like “they
just don’t understand”? And by “they” I
mean everyone else in the world (or so it would appear). If you can relate to this feeling, I know
what you’re dealing with. My name is
Erin; I am a PR student and a vegetarian.
Living in a predominantly meat-eating society, oftentimes I feel
misunderstood. I constantly feel like I
am defending my choices to those carnivorous beings who cannot fathom the
possibility of living without meat. I have a BA in sociology and I took several animal rights courses that
really opened my eyes to animal cruelty and the meat industry. I have been a vegetarian for over three years
and I find myself constantly wanting to learn more about vegetarianism.